Tag: chickens

Moving back to the farm has been so great for this family. All the convenience and ease of life we sought moving into the city was a huge let down. We are starting up our life again here. The simple and quiet rhythm here is truly what our hearts long for.

The city was convenient, but here is restful.

The first order of business is preparing the garden for a bountiful crop. Our garden has rested since the great hailstorm of 2014.

Five Years.

My soul is longing for black compost under my nails, dirt on my face and a famer’s tan. The glorious smell of fresh cut basil and bees buzzing around and pollinating the food that will be set upon our table is the kind of therapy I thrive in.

I have realized through these videos that I have so much the learn about gardening. I think this year is the most researched and planned out growing seasons we’ve had. I mean I am over-flowing with information and am eager to start putting to practice new-to-me principles.

There is something so exhilarating about the first little sprouts pushing through the dark soil and stretching for the sun. Every time I witness this miracle of life I am in awe.

In addition to the garden in its beginnings, we just received our baby chicks! This time around we ordered Easter Eggers and Welsummers from Meyer Hatchery.

They are all being loved on by this family.

Is there anything sweeter than a baby chick chirping and scratching and learning to forage?

Well, perhaps a tiny anything is the most adorable ever.

There are many more dreams and plans being made here. I can’t wait to share them with you.

Oh, Winter. The time here on the farm to make plans for the rest of the year. We have some grand plans for this year. Gathering knowledge these past (almost) two years has been beneficial. We have wanted to jump into everything, but thought it better to bide our time. We finally have a way to get a beef cow. We are preparing for honey bees. The pasture has a plan for expansion for more goats. The chickens are gearing up for their very own yard. And (Lord help us) we’re making calls to buy pigs again. Many talks have happened here. The funding is seeming to come through. Nick has side jobs one after another.

Our neighbors who have had many head of cattle in the past have offered to host one cow of ours. This is grand news since we haven’t ventured that far due to fence mending we need to do. Nick is as happy as a clam. How ever happy that is.

I’ve read no less than four books cover to cover this week on beekeeping. I stay fascinated by bees. They are intriguing creations. I have a feeling they will teach us all some important lessons. I’ve made calls to local pros and really honed in on the Africanized Bee dilemma. I am making plans on the best ways to keep them from invading our future colony. While they really aren’t as scary as the movies dipict, there are reasons why they can be. We will be keeping bees on our property. That calls for extra measures of caution. Any breed of bee can do damage to people and livestock to the point of death. This is rare. It can also be nearly preventable by being observant and educated Apiarists. I don’t take this topic lightly.

Nick has spent the better part of a particularly restless night planning the expansion of our goat pen. We want our ladies on pasture as soon as we have the funds for the materials. We are also getting real serious about keeping another one-two girls this year. We just never seem to have enough milk between ourselves and customers. I really want to venture into selling goat milk products (soap, cheese ect) this season. More milk please!

Bottom line with the chickens– I’m done with them pooping on my porch. They’re getting a nice big yard this year. Just last week we were late to the library because a certain tiny girl placed her special box on the porch steps while making her way to the car. I can’t accurately describe the wailing that ensued when she discover it was covered in chicken poop. Ahhh, the things you never think of when you start a farm from scratch.

This brings us to the pig talk. I am semi-confident they won’t get out of their pen this year. Semi. We’ve learned not to make definitive statements when it comes to this topic. The plan is do get 4-5 pigs and sell meat this year. With all the hub-bub going on about pig illness on the East coast, we think the demand will be good for us. I’m on the search for Heritage Breeds in our area. Just pray. Pigs are all they said to be in movies and books. Except Wilber. Wilber was a good pig.

Do you have plans and dreams? Move forward. These plans are subject to change depending on the provision and direction of God. We pray and think plenty before we make plans, however we know who’s running this homestead. We try to stay humble as we keep that in mind.

As I’ve hung clothes on the line again (thank you warm weather), I have really been pondering the seasons’ changes on the farm. We have been out here in the country for a full year now, and I’m barely feeling like I have a better understanding of what each season brings.

We are coming from winter, which is the least busy of all the seasons. The main goal is get animals bred, stay warm, and rest from the hard work of the rest of the year. I see it as the stay inside and fatten up period. Baking becomes frequent, and reading is plenty.

When you are stagnant for so long, it’s very difficult to kick into full gear Spring. We made it through baby goat births and building garden boxes, and now we’re gearing up for planting the seeds and selling the babies. This requires paperwork, advertising, disbudding, castrating ect. In just a few short weeks I’ll be back to milking twice a day. We have drip systems to fix, fencing to build, and trees to trim. It’s about time to decide which hens are no longer laying and, therefore; need to processed. Spring is the busiest and most work here.

I very much enjoy the rest of the Winter, but I am definitely ready to begin the work of Spring, so as to profit from the harvest in the Summer. Things are picking up here. We are praying for a blessing on this little farm. May He give the increase for our labor.